The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-21
CALLING FOR A REFORM.
THE MERCHANTS WANT A BETTER
TELEPHONE SERVICE.

connection! I've been yelling here Tor hai1
an hour" No answer comes, and the rate
subscriber TO the telephone service lets his
lever go with a snap, as an exclamation
point which comes in at the conclusion of a
long string of words that are of hazy blue
color. II believe the telephone service of
this city is responsible for more cuss-
ing than half a dozen able-bodied seamen
could get off in a day" exclaimed an
individual yesterday as he hung the phone
ON the hook and Topped down in chair as
if he was trying to break it. There is plenty
of room for Improvement in the service, and
those who use telephones are fully aware of
the fact. Many are the complaints that are
made against the negligence of some one,
whoever he may be, connected with the
Telephone Exchange, for it is sometimes an
| hours work to get connection, though
| it may be wanted at once. The
| in front of the phone raises his voice to its
| highest pitch and bawls. He keeps on bawl-
| ing for five minutes or So and don't mind
| it much but then it begins to get tiresome,
and his throat gets dry. He vets his whistle
and tries it sgain, but before he gets con-
nection his finger gets tired holding down
the lever, and then he begins soliloquy in
PERFECT SERVICE NEEDED.
Sometimes the operators in the Central
Office can be heard talking in the office but
| no amount of calling or ringing of bells will
attract their attention. Then, again, not a
sound can beAheard and no answer can be
obtained But even when connection is
had there is frequently trouble in hearing
what is said over the wire. The connection
is not well made or the instruments
are permitted to get more or less
| out of order, and the only thing
tumble of sound The telephone service is
| no longer luxury; it has become neces-
sity. So accustomed have the people grown
| to its use and to such an extent do they rely
on it that when it cannot be used they are
involved in serious difficulties Business is
dependent upon it, and good service
| is as Indispensable to the commercial
community COZ as is +h;s perfect er6san pos she
business men of this city are making vigor-
Gus protests against the imperfect service
that is furnished them. The day service is
bad enough, but at night it is not to be re-
| lied on at all If phone is held to the ear
| the operators in the office may frequently
be heard laughing and talking, and they
pay no attention to calls. A number of
people have adopted the trick of tying the
| central office ring until the operator an
swers, but often it will be ten or fifteen
| minutes before he does.
CAUGHT MAPPING.
Chief Fernandez of the Fire Department
| tried to call up the headquarters from a
| downtown Office about two weeks ago, but
| failing to get a response he went to the tele-
| phone office and knocked at the door He
| got no answer to his rap but repeated it
until ne heard some one tipping to the
door The man on the inside opened the
| door slightly and the Chief forced his way
| in and found the night operator had just
awakened from a sound sleep. Actually
| he had disrobed. About three nights after
| that he repeated his visit TO the Office, and
| found the operator in an exactly SINH
| lar condition. To get the views of the
public upon this subject, a number OF the
| most prominent merchants were interviewed
| and almost without an exception they
| condemned the service. One complaint
| voices ali; the only difference is the de-
gree of warmth liz which it was
| given. They complain, first, of the
| slowness in answering calls; second, the
| difficulty in getting right connection; third,
| the indistinctnesS of the messages; and,
| above all, the great annoyance experienced
| in long or continued conversations by the
operators cutting them Off in the midst of
| their conversation.
| THE MERCHANTS INDIGNANT.
| These were repeated in various phases,
but all in very emphatic words. They said
when they complained the service would
| be fine for a day or two and
then relapse into its old rut. One
| firm sent the Superintendent a vigorously
worded complaint, and for awhile they were
| waited on like lords The tinlxle of their
call would hardly sound before Central
would respond. This was too good to last
aud it soon lapsed into "innocuons desue-
| tude" All the Bay street merchants soon
| protestested vigorously against the service
| given them.
Not only Bay street suffers but all parts
| of the city
''Tll attend an Indignation meeting any
| time,n remarked a well-known Broughton
street merchant. at is abominable the
way the subscribers are served. Wepay a
| good price, but what do we get from it!
| Several times ! have been tempted
| to give it up, as it is more
| OF nuisance than a help. Complaints
made to the office here do no good, as the
| effect wears off in day or two, as suppose
they get accustomed to them. Something
must be done, for |, for one, won't stand it
much longer / pay good price for good
| service, and as a business matter, shall in
sist on it.
'You can say my experience has not led
me to greatly admire Their service" re-
marked Alderman Thomas. ''In the first
place, the receiver in my Office is nearly al
ways in bad order Something is always
sure to go wrong when need it the most
We have two Instruments here, and at
times can use neither. At one time
something was the matter with my
instrument. and while | could connect with
nv yard, couldn't make the Central Of
fee hear me My man at the yard told
them of the trouble ami asked them to repair
il at once. But nobody came, and finally
| sent clerk up there. and not till then
did they attend 60 it, The service is very
poor; many times | have to wait long
while to get connection, and then at
times can hardly hear what is
said. Another very annoying trouble is the
bunders made in connecting. Nearly every
day | am called up, only to find when
answer that some one else is wanted We
pay good price for the accommodation,
and we should have better service
ONLY TWO ADVOCATES.
The next three hours were spent investi
eating the complaints made by the business
men and corporations, and out of some fifty
different subscribers only two spoke in its
favor or said they were IN any way satisfied
with the service rendered by the company
Nearly everyone seen narrated some
special grievance of their own regarding